VOA慢速英语2020 美国小企业开始重塑自我（在线收听）

Small business owners are worried about how to keep operating under restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

小企业主担心如何在旨在减缓冠状病毒传播的限制下继续运营。 

Reinvention may be the most important idea.The U.S. Congress passed a measure that provided billions of dollars to small businesses to keep them from collapsing.But even with that assistance, "many small companies are still struggling to reopen, and others will never reopen," said Tom Sullivan.He is the vice president for small business policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.

重新进行改造可能是最重要的想法。美国国会通过了一项措施，向小企业提供数十亿美元以防止它们倒闭。汤姆·沙利文表示，但即使有这样的援助，“许多小公司重新开始营业仍十分艰难进行，还有一些公司永远不会重启。”他是位于华盛顿特区的美国商会负责小企业政策的副主席。

There are 30 million small businesses in the United States and most have fewer than 75 employees.They need to reinvent themselves, Sullivan told VOA."Theres definitely a new normal, and I dont think companies can go back to the way they were before COVID-19."

美国有3000万家小企业，大多数都只有不到75名员工。沙利文对美国之音表示，他们需要重塑自我。“这肯定是一种新常态，我认为企业不可能回到新冠肺炎爆发之前的状态。”

Markos Panas is the founder of the Bread and Water Company in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C.He knows this very well."When the coronavirus kicked open the door, it was sink or swim, and we realized we had to make a lot of changes," he said.

马科斯·帕纳斯是华盛顿特区外弗吉尼亚州亚历山大市Bread and Water公司的创始人。他很清楚这一点。他说:“当冠状病毒打开了这扇门时，要么沉沦，要么继续前进，我们意识到我们必须做出很多改变。”

Like many small businesses, Bread and Water lost at least half of its revenue after the virus hit.The number of customers quickly went down to nearly none as people stayed home.

像许多小企业一样，Bread and Water公司在病毒袭击后损失了至少一半的收入。由于人们都呆在家里，顾客的数量很快减少到几乎没有。

Panas said a $10,000 CARES donation from congress has helped the bakery remain open.

帕纳斯说，来自国会的1万美元爱心捐款帮助这家面包店继续营业。 

The money is meant to help small businesses keep workers on the job through the health crisis.Panas said the crisis actually forced his company to simplify its business."Before we were trying to do too much, and just breaking even as a wholesaler, restaurant, and bakery," he said."We became a full-time, carry-out operation, with online ordering, something we hadnt done before," said Panas.

这笔钱是用来帮助小企业在健康危机期间继续雇佣员工支付工资。帕纳斯说，危机实际上迫使他的公司简化了业务。他说:“以前我们想做的太多了，作为批发商、餐馆和面包店，我们却只能仅仅做到收支平衡。”帕纳斯说:“我们后来变成了一家全职的外卖公司，提供网上订购服务，这是我们以前没有做过的。”

He also learned that less can be more.

他还懂得了“少即是多”。 

"Weve reduced our bread and pastry offerings, and provided a better variety" of other products, he said.

他说，“我们减少了面包和糕点的供应，并提供了更多更好种类的”其他产品。 

Panas added that he trained his employees to do more than one job.

帕纳斯补充说，他训练员工做不止一项工作。 

The company is "already making more money than we did before," Panas said.

帕纳斯说，该公司“已经比以前赚了更多的钱”。 

Companies that are not making changes are going to find it difficult to survive, said Joe Shamus.He is a former military pilot who is the co-owner of Flags of Valor in Ashburn, Virginia.

乔·沙默斯说，不做改变的公司将很难生存下去。他曾是一名军事飞行员，是弗吉尼亚州阿什本英勇旗帜公司的共同所有者。

The business employs combat veterans who handmake American flags from wood.

这家公司雇佣退伍军人用木头手工制作美国国旗。 

"Our company has had to change the way we do business," Shamus said.

“我们的公司不得不改变我们的经营方式，”沙默斯说。 

Like Bread and Water, Flags of Valor cut its retail sales and changed some of its products including:"...smaller, more affordable flags for the average consumer," he said.

与Bread and Water公司一样，英勇旗帜公司也削减了零售销售额，并改变了一些产品，其中包括：……面向普通消费者销售的更小、价格更实惠的旗帜，”他说。

The NightLight Pediatric Urgent Care clinics in Houston, Texas, decided the internet was the way to go.

德克萨斯州休斯敦市的“夜灯”儿科急诊诊所认为，互联网是一条发展的出路。 

"The eight clinics are in shopping centers, so in a way, we run it like a retail business..." said Zawadi Bryant, the companys chief.

“八家诊所都在购物中心， 所以在某种程度上，我们的经营方式就像零售企业一样……”该公司的首席执行官扎瓦迪·布莱恩特说。

After COVID-19 arrived, "there was a major drop in the number of children we were seeing."

在新冠肺炎疫情爆发后，“我们诊治的儿童数量大幅下降。” 

As a result, he said, the company started to agree to see patients online.He said parents love it because it is easy.

因此，他说，该公司开始在网上诊治病人。他说因为这种方式十分简单便捷，所以父母们十分喜欢。

Couch Clarity provides mental health services in the Chicago suburbs.It also provides services online.Company president Melissa Bercier said her workers were trained almost "overnight" to provide "teletherapy"which they had never done before.

“Couch Clarity”公司在芝加哥郊区提供心理健康服务。它还提供在线服务。公司总裁梅丽莎·贝尔西说，她的员工几乎在“一夜之间”接受了“远程治疗”培训，这是他们以前从未做过的。

Bread and Water Companys Panas said, changing is not easy,"...but now is the perfect time to reimagine what you can do."

Bread and Water 公司的帕纳斯说，改变并不容易，“但现在是重新设想你能做什么的最佳时机。” 

Im Susan Shand.

苏珊·尚德为您播报。